By Tim Peterson
(Glendale)-Azad Herabidian has stepped down as the head football coach at Hoover after six years he announced on Twitter (X) Thursday.
Hoover was 18-22 overall the last four years under Herabidian. The Tornadoes didn’t play in 2019 and 2020. Their best year was in 2022 when they went 7-3. Hoover was back in the Pacific League this year after four years away and went 1-9 overall. The Tornadoes only victory was over Glendale 35-0 in the last game of the season.
Herabidian will stay on at the school as Athletic Director.
Herebidian’s statement:
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Maybe a bit exaggerated off a 1-9 season, but you got to look at it as a whole. He started with nothing…no money in the trust, less than 5 players in the program, a terrible school reputation, and literally no equipment except for the basics like ancient shoulder pads/helmets. The program was all but officially shut down when he took over in 2019..and he had to convince admin to keep it going in 2020. Now they have close to 70 kids in the program, a fully renovated weight room and just about any piece of equipment you could ask for, including new shoulder pads and helmets, because he fundraised over 70k in 5 years and spent every cent on the program(NOT easy to do at a place like Hoover that doesn’t have a booster). He also put together more wins in 4 varsity seasons than the previous 10+ varsity seasons combined, moved their home games from Moyse to their campus which has brought solid crowds to their games, has kids excited to play ball and proud to be there, and actually competed in almost every league game last season except for Muir and Burbank. When you look at it in context, he deserves plenty of credit…unfortunately, more than he will get from anyone outside the area who have no clue of the challenges there. Those in the community know what a tremendous job he’s done and coming from someone who has worked at multiple schools, including Hoover, I don’t think anyone else could have or would have accomplished what he has there. I’m actually curious to see what impact he will have as AD. The next HC won’t need to worry about anything but coaching quality football and when they re-league in 2026…I’m betting they make a splash and make a playoff appearance. I heard they had almost 20 applicants for the job, and mostly solid candidates too. They should be announcing their hire soon.
Well I saw them out there this summer , and no doubt he had his troops out working hard. Personally, I find his statement a bit overstated and aggrandizing coming off 1-9 season . As athletic director not sure why they wanted back in Pacific League for football. Does anyone really want that job?
From T. Peterson: The reason why they wanted back in the Pacific League is because in the other leagues they were ineligible for post season play- no playoffs. I know they’re not competitive yet in the Pacific but at least there is a carrot at the end if they could finish in the top 4…something to play for.
I’m determined to be the next Hoover HC. Hearing that Coach Oz will help in any way possible, I only ask that he raise at least $100,000 in cash, which I will keep in my home safe, and second, that Oz recruit 20 star underclassmen from the Trinity league to add some zip to the already restored program.